1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and more specifically to an electrical connector in which the connection direction can be changed between directions that are mutually perpendicular.
2. Description of Related Art
An electrical connector has been proposed for use in making electrical connections, for example between a wiring pattern that is provided on a printed circuit board and an external electrical cable, whereby it is possible to attach and remove the connector which is mounted on the printed circuit board and the cable-side connector provided on the electrical cable, thereby enabling the electrical connection to be broken. FIG. 7 is an example of such a connector, in which a printed circuit board connector 110 has a contact pin 112 which is erected in a block 111 which has an L-shaped cross-section, this contact pin 112 being inserted into a hole which is provided in the printed circuit board 1, the outer portion thereof being connected to a wiring pattern 11 so as to mount the pin to the printed circuit board 1. A cable-side connector 120 has a rectangular block 121 that is prevented from being removed by means of a hook 113 which is provided in the above-noted board-side connector 110 which mates with a mating groove 124 of the block 121, this block having a contact 122 that is provided therein, this contact 122 mating with the above-noted contact pin 112 at the end thereof, thereby connecting the electrical cable 123 to the wiring pattern 11 on the printed circuit board 1. By mating this cable-side connector 120 to the board-side connector 110 along the above-noted connector pins 112, a connection is made between the contact pin 112 and the electrical cable 123 via the above-noted contact 122.
In the same manner, FIG. 8 shows a board-side connector 110A and a cable-side connector 120, in which case, in order to connect the electrical cable 123 in a direction that is parallel to the surface of the printed circuit board 1, the board-side connector 110 of block 111A is formed so as to have a C-shaped cross-section, and the contact pin 112A is provided so as to pass through the bottom surface of this block 111A, and also so that the middle portion thereof is bent in an approximate right angle and the end portion thereof is soldered to the printed circuit board 1.
In a connector such as described above in the prior art, to achieve a difference in the connection direction of an electrical cable with respect to a printed circuit board, it was necessary to provide a special connector for each of the connection directions. In this case, while it is possible to use a cable-side connector 120 of the same configuration regardless of the connection direction, because of the difference in the direction of the contact pin with respect to the printed circuit board, board connectors 110 and 110A, having difference configurations were required. In the reverse situation, if one and the same connector is to be used on the printed circuit board, it is necessary to have different cable-side connectors which correspond to the difference connection directions. For this reason, it is necessary to design and fabricate electrical connectors having configurations which correspond to the differing connection directions of the electrical cable with respect to the printed circuit board, this requirement running contrary to the demand in recent years for various components to be universally usable and sharable.
In view of the above-described drawbacks in the prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector which is capable, using one connector having an electrical cable, of making a connection to an electrical cable from mutually differing directions, thereby reducing the number of portions, while improving universality and the ability to share components.